Breakfast Couscous with Oranges

Fluffy and tender couscous gets paired with sliced oranges, a dash of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup in this quick and easy summer breakfast hot cereal bowl.

Jump to:

• 🧄 Ingredient notes
• 🔪 Instructions
• ☕️ Tea pairing
• ❓ FAQ
• 💭 Tips
• 💜 More recipes you'll love
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

🧄 Ingredient notes

The couscous we'll be using for this recipe is small couscous. It's in tiny little pieces. Either standard couscous or whole wheat couscous will work.

Israeli couscous will not work for this recipe, it must be cooked much longer to be tender.

This breakfast couscous recipe is:

• filling
• fast to make (5 min!)
• easy - you just need to boil some water
• great for weight loss

This breakfast stays with you, because the couscous is starchy and filling. Starches, which are carbohydrates, give our bodies energy for the day, so they make an excellent breakfast.

It's also very low in fat, so you can happily eat it whether you're choosing a plant-based, vegan, starch solution or even Dr. McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss way of eating. Happy dance!

Make this couscous weight loss recipe into a 50/50 plate by filling half the bowl with fresh fruit. Or, by eating a separate bowl of non-starchy vegetables, like asparagus, broccoli, spinach or kale.

🔪 Instructions

To make this recipe, you'll need the following kitchen utensils:

• a bowl and spoon
• a plate to cover your bowl
• a small paring knife to cut your orange

Start with the couscous

Add your couscous and the dash of salt to a medium sized bowl. Next, you'll need to add your boiling water.

Add your couscous and the dash of salt to a medium sized bowl. Next, you'll need to add your boiling water. See my tip below for using an electric kettle to make this and other recipes super easy.

Or, you can boil your water with the stove or microwave.

It will take about 1 minute to boil the ¾ cup of water you'll need for this recipe. Depending on the wattage of your microwave, it may take less or more time, so keep an eye on it.

For overnight couscous: Combine ½ cup small couscous in a container with ¾ cup water. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight to rehydrate.

Flavor it up!

Once you've added your boiling water, stir it lightly, cover the boil with a plate and let sit for 5 minutes. While you're waiting for the couscous to plump up, peel and slice your orange. Then, you can add in your flavor!

Sprinkle on a little bit of cinnamon. Drizzle on some honey or maple syrup. Stir that goodness together and top with sliced oranges. YUM.

My boys prefer to eat this with raisins instead of orange, so maybe give that a try for kiddos.

Keep in mind that dried fruits have higher calorie density, so a little goes a long way and they should be limited if you're trying to lose weight.

If you like this breakfast couscous, you may also like to try my Breakfast Couscous with Strawberries and Banana recipe.

☕️ Tea pairing

This orange couscous breakfast would be delicious paired with a delicate, light and floral jasmine oolong tea or jasmine green tea.

❓ FAQ

💭 Tips

Save time by using an electric kettle

You've probably boiled water a million times, but I want to share the most convenient way I've found.

I grew up in Texas and never owned an electric kettle, until.... I went to visit my sister in Ireland. In her tiny, tiny kitchen, which had a sliver of a counter, she had made room for an electric kettle. Why? Because it's the best invention ever, that's why.

We love tea in this house. We drink it every day and had been boiling our water with a kettle on the stove. But, the convenience of an electric kettle was just marvelous while we were in Ireland. All you have to do is fill it and push the button. No more running into the kitchen to turn off the stove before it boils over.

As soon as we got home, we started shopping for one for our kitchen. And, as I've decluttered <a ton> recently and cleared my kitchen counters, the kettle real estate has remained untouched. It proudly sits in it's little corner, waiting to work for us every day.

If you have an electric kettle in your house, I recommend using it to boil your water for this recipe. You won't even have to touch your stove to have breakfast. Just fill the kettle and pop it on while you're getting your ingredients together.

The electric kettle we use has different settings on it, depending on what temperature your tea needs to be steeped at. For example, for green tea, it's 176 degrees Fahrenheit. For oolong tea, it's 194 degrees.

I love it! It makes a big difference in the flavor of the tea, if you steep it in water at the right temperature for the tea you're drinking.

For this kettle breakfast couscous, I've moved the dial all the way to the setting for Herbal tea, which will boil the water at 212 degrees. It only takes a minute or two to boil, depending on how much water you've added to it.

💜 More recipes you'll love

If you like this healthy breakfast orange couscous, check out these plant-based breakfast recipes!

For some other plant-based breakfast ideas, maybe you'd like to check out my simple maple oatmeal with sliced banana or these breakfast tacos with spinach, sweet potato and spicy charro beans.

📖 Recipe